The Hunted
by GrandeGilliesGomez
Summary: One night, Jade's in the woods with the rest of the gang. Next morning, she's in a hospital. All of her friends are missing. Where is everyone? Can she trust that doctor? Why is everyone behaving strangely? What happens when Jade gets these threatening notes from unknown enemies? And who are The Hooligans exactly? There are no ships in this fic, some Cade friendship. Rated T.
1. The Hooligans

THE HUNTED: CHAPTER I

* * *

_Hey guys! Okay, this is the first fanfic I've EVER written, and I'm nervous and excited at the same time, which often makes me feel nauseous. XD Jk. Seriously, I want good reviews because I can admit that it's not, like, AMAZING. I wanna know what you guys think. I hope you agree with me, lol. Please at least tell me that I'm...sort of good. _

_No couples though, so it's probably not going to be very exciting for shippers lol._

_Well, it's good luck for me, and a good story for you. Enjoy!_

* * *

The sweet sound of laughter filled the night sky. In an RV sat three girls: one with black hair, one with brown hair and one with red hair. Along with them sat three boys: one with shoulder-length brown hair, one with curly black hair and one with dreadlocks.

The girl with black hair raised a champagne glass and cried, "Three cheers for _The Hooligans_!"

Everyone else followed, raising their glasses as well, crying out the five words.

They were just teenagers, alone in the middle of the woods. They were fearless - and drunk.

The silent air encircled the RV and blew. A strange, whooshing sound arose. Everything became quiet. No one stirred. Not a single leaf moved. It was as if time had stopped.

Suddenly, a ear-piercing scream shattered the silence. Several screams followed. Five people scrambled out of the vehicle and ran as fast as they could.

They didn't realize someone had been left behind.

* * *

Jade's eyelids fluttered. She frowned, licked her lips and opened her eyes.

She was in a hospital. There was a nurse sitting at a desk next to her bed. Jade sighed, and the nurse turned sharply to see her.

"Oh," she smiled. "Looks like you're awake."

Jade squinted and rubbed her eyes. "Where am I?"

"St. Judith's Hospital for Women," the nurse replied, rushing to fill a cup of water for Jade. She handed the cup to Jade, who sat up slowly.

"But...what happened?" Jade asked. She felt exhausted. She had a dreadful headache and her eyes felt really tired.

"We found you in a recreational vehicle, lying alone on the ground, unconscious," the nurse answered, making notes on a large notepad. "Now lie down, you'll feel better."

Jade lay down. It was obviously Beck's RV she'd been in. But what had happened? Had she been injured? Had there been a crash? If so, where was everyone else?

"Um," Jade said quietly, looking at the nurse.

"Yes?"

"Was there anyone else with me?" Jade asked hopefully.

The nurse frowned. "Not that I know of. Was there someone with you?"

"I'm sure there was someone with me," Jade said. "That RV isn't mine. It's-it's just my friend's RV. I don't have an RV, I just have a stupid old Honda City."

"Well honey," the nurse smiled sympathetically, "I should probably advise you to not worry. You're going to find your friends. I know you will."

"Thanks," Jade smiled. "Although I can't without _your_ help."

"All right, we'll find your friends," the nurse grinned. "But you'll need to tell us their names, what they look like and their basic information. Is that all right?"

"That's fine," Jade sighed, relieved.

"I'll come and get you in a few," the nurse said, walking towards the door. "First I need to show all the reports to the doctor and let him know that you're awake." She winked and grinned.

Jade faked a smile as the nurse shut the door. How had this happened? Suddenly, all her friends had disappeared, and she had been found in Beck's RV? How was that possible?

A few minutes later, the nurse returned to Jade's room. Jade looked at the nurse hopefully.

"You can come with me now," the nurse smiled and encouraged Jade to get up, which she did willingly.

They finally got to the doctor's room. He looked at Jade and smiled. "Good morning. Are you feeling somewhat better?"

"Yeah," Jade yawned as she sat down. She wasn't really in the 'mean' mood.

"All right," the doctor turned to the computer. "So, tell me the names of your friends."

"Well, one's Cat," Jade said slowly. "Caterina Valentine." How did she know that she could trust this doctor?

"Caterina Valentine," the doctor muttered as he typed. He stared at the screen for a few seconds. Then he frowned and peered at what was written. "Is that your friend?"

He showed Jade several pictures of a blonde wearing weird pink and blue metallic outfits. Jade made a face.

"No," she replied, shaking her head vigorously. "That looks _nothing_ like Cat."

"Okay..." the doctor said slowly. "Do your friends have, like, Facebook or Twitter accounts or something?"

"Well, they do have something," Jade admitted. "It's our school website, TheSlap."

"TheSlap?" the doctor asked, his eyebrows raised.

Jade blushed. "Don't insult it," she snapped. "It's the only piece of information we have!"

"Okay, I'm sorry," he smiled, typing in .com and opening the site.

He searched all the names one by one, but there were no results.

"I'm sorry," he said, turning to Jade. "There's nothing."

"But..." Jade frowned. "I could have sworn..."

She grabbed the mouse of the computer and searched for her name. She searched for all the students and all the teachers she knew. She didn't find anything.

Where was everyone?

* * *

_Well, I can't wait for reviews! Good reviews would be AMAZING. Bad reviews will be appreciated and congratulated. I also approve of bad reviews as it may help me improve my writing._

_I know the story seems...odd, so far. But honestly, it becomes much better._

_Happy reading! 3_

_~GGG_


	2. Xxxxx Comes

"Pardon me when I say this, Ms. West," the doctor said, "but I think you're imagining all this."

Jade spun around angrily to face the doctor. The doctor looked stunned. Her eyes looked like they had become a bright red - for a millisecond.

"_Imagining_ it?" she snapped. "I have know these people for years. They're the only people I talk to. And you're trying to tell me...you know what?"

"What?" the doctor asked, looking bored.

"Get out," Jade said, her eyebrows raised.

"What? No," the doctor frowned.

"Get," Jade said, pronouncing her words slowly and carefully. "Out."

She kicked his right shin. Suddenly, an excruciating pain shot through her foot and legs. Instead of wailing in pain, he made odd mechanical noises. Jade frowned. How unusual. When the doctor fell down, she tapped his leg. It felt like some kind of hard stone. She pulled up the hem of his pants and saw a silver metal. From certain angles, it also looked like it had some gold.

Who was this doctor?

Suddenly, the door opened behind her. She turned around to face the person who had just entered.

It was the nurse. Jade got tense. What would the nurse think?

Strangely, the nurse said nothing at first. Her eyes darted from the doctor lying on the floor to his leg and then finally to Jade kneeling over the unconscious doctor.

"I see," the nurse grinned. "Follow me, Jade."

Jade was stunned. How could the nurse be so calm? And when had she started calling Jade by her first name?

Jade got up and followed reluctantly. She took one last look at the doctor and wondered aloud, "What do we do with him?"

The nurse looked at the doctor and sighed, "We let him be."

Jade looked at the nurse wide-eyed. She opened her mouth for a second but then shut it again.

The nurse walked with Jade into another room. Before entering, she slowly peered in and looked around. The way she moved reminded Jade of someone, though she couldn't remember who.

The nurse quickly opened the door fully, pulled Jade in and locked the door.

Suddenly, Jade realized who it was. _No__, _she thought. _That's impossible._

The "nurse" started taking off all her clothes. She removed her odd dress, and Jade started to cover her eyes when she realized the "nurse" was wearing regular skin-tight jeans and a bright magenta top. She removed her hat. She took off her shoes and socks. Finally (and Jade knew this would happen), the nurse tore off her hair (I mean, wig).

(Author's Note: You can probably guess who it was. As a challenge, I won't write her name in the following lines. Oh, and she will be acting very OOC just to make it even more difficult.)

"I knew it was you," Jade smirked.

Xxxxx smiled. "Though you found out too late."

"What happened?" Jade asked. "Since when have you been a better actress than me?"

Xxxxx twirled her hair and laughed, "Since I was born, duh."

"What's with the attitude, Xxxxx?" Jade laughed. It was always fun to have a good laugh, and Xxxxx always provided one. "You're becoming like me."

"Maybe I spend too much time with you," Xxxxx smiled. Then she turned serious. "But there's another problem that I have to tell you about."

"What problem?" Jade asked, frowning.

Xxxxx rolled her eyes. She lowered her voice to a whisper. "We've gone back in time!"

Jade looked around. "But - but I've never seen this place..."

"Yes," Xxxxx explained, exasperated. "Because we _changed_ the past."

"What does that mean?" Jade groaned. "That makes no sense whatsoever."

"Um, yeah it does," Xxxxx said. "You obviously remember nothing that happened that night, am I right?"

"Uh, well, no I don't," Jade admitted. "Should I be able to remember? Was it important?"

"Well," Xxxxx said, "if by 'important' you mean saving-our-damn-lives important, then yeah. It's that important and you should've remembered it...anyway."

"What happened that night?" Jade asked, frowning.

"You want me to tell youhe very single detail?" Xxxxx moaned.

"You know how I like it," Jade smiled slyly.

"Fine," Xxxxx sighed. "I'll tell you. It sort of went like this: We were in Beck's RV. You know that part, of course. There was a bunch of people other than the two of us, of course: you know, our closest friends. You guys were...drunk. Like, really really drunk. Fortunately, I was not. You just kept on saying weird stuff, I couldn't make out much. Then you, Jade, raised your glass of champagne and said something like 'Three cheers for The Hooligans!' and I had no darn clue what you people were talking about. But I went with it. Suddenly, I have no clue what happened exactly, but I think a storm came and the RV shook. I got out. Everyone did except for you. Everyone ran away, except for me. You remained inside the RV. I called the hospital, the police, everyone I could reach. Luckily, you got saved in time. Apparently, without my help, you could've died. And I guess I've been stalking you since then."

"Thanks, Xxxxx," Jade blurted out. "Consider yourself lucky; you're the first person to get complimented by me."

"Eh, you're welcome."

"That STILL doesn't explain why the doctor's leg is made of gold and silver," Jade pointed out, raising one of her eyebrows.

"Oh, yeah," Xxxxx exclaimed, smacking forehead, as if she'd just realized ir forgotten something. "I almost forgot to tell you: we're the Hunted. Now, don't ask me what THAT means. I thought you understood English."

Xxxxx grinned and walked out the door.


	3. The Unexpected Ally

_Hello my dear readers. Welcome back to this spectacular third chapter of my wondrous story (i.e._ The Hunted_).__ In case you couldn't guess who the heck this 'Xxxxx' is, it's *drum roll* CAT! Pretty easy, eh? ;) I had actually given quite a few hints, so I thought it'd be pretty obvious. First of all, who spends a lot of time with Jade? Obviously, her awesome best friend Cat. Second, I clearly mentioned in the first paragraph that there were three girls and three boys in the RV. I also described them. So it couldn't have been Trina (I got a review asking whether it was Trina or not). Last of all, the main characters of this story are Jade West and Cat Valentine! Lol. I thought it was obvious. xD Anyway, it doesn't matter, because now I'm going to continue the story whether you like it or not. Let's begin._

* * *

Jade ran out of the room. She looked around, expecting Cat to pop out of somewhere randomly. Unfortunately, Cat had disappeared. Jade's eyes became wide with shock. "Where is that girl?" she wondered aloud. She rushed to the reception.

When she got there, she approached the counter quickly. "Hey, lady," she snapped. "Have you seen a redhead anywhere?"

The lady looked up from a pile of papers. She had a bored expression on her face. She was blonde. Her eyelids were a bright shade of blue and she had applied a lot of mascara to her eyelashes. Her lips were a bright shade of red. "What is it? Can't you see I'm busy?" She had an annoying New York accent, Jade noted.

"I asked," Jade repeated slowly, "if you've seen a redhead anywhere." She was starting to get really annoyed by this woman.

"Go away," the lady responded, looking at the papers again.

"_I'm_ not going away until you answer my question," Jade replied defiantly, crossing her arms. "And you _will_ answer it. I know you will."

The lady raised her eyebrows. She slowly kept her papers aside and stood up. She was much taller then Jade, and looked like she wanted to kill Jade. Jade hesitated but didn't move. "Tell me," she repeated.

The lady suddenly started smiling. "Why don't we discuss this over coffee?"

"I'm a patient here," Jade replied. "I can't get out of this damn hospital. You know that."

"True, so true," the lady replied, examining her nails. She looked up. "

* * *

The lady came back to the bench with a cup of coffee in each of her hands. Jade felt weird sitting with the lady. After all, the lady was definitely _much_ older than Jade. She looked a bit like a blonde Angelina Jolie, except with much more make-up. She looked at Jade and smiled. Jade did not smile back. She knew the difference between a real smile and a fake smile.

"What's wrong?" the Angelina Jolie look-alike asked. "I mean, after such hospitality, why you gotta be so hostile?"

Grinning, she playfully punched Jade. Jade glared at the Angelina Jolie look-alike. She could only take a playful punch from Cat or Tori, that too rarely. If a stranger ever playfully punched her, she'd punch them back, except not-so-playfully. However, she made an exception this once, as this woman could give her some information about Cat.

After a pause, Jade asked, "What about our deal, blondie?"

The lady stopped smiling. "My name is Tasha Black, thank you very much. I don't appreciate being discriminated against because of my hair color."

"Dude, chill," Jade laughed. "It's a joke. There's a difference between a rude comment and a joke. Besides, I wasn't exactly discriminating. Get your facts right. Calm down. Now tell me where the redhead went."

Tasha pursed her lips. "I can't tell you."

"What are you talking about? You have to tell me."

"It's classified information," Tasha said, shrugging and sipping her coffee.

Jade raised her eyebrows.

"Fine," Tasha sighed. "I'll tell you. She left the hospital. I saw her. She left quickly. She almost looked like a bird, just flying away. Her hair was bright red, the color of blood, except a little deeper. When I asked her where she was going, she just said 'Somewhere only we know.' Then she laughed and walked away."

Jade frowned. Somewhere only we know. It sounded familiar, as if someone had been whispering exactly these words to her in her dreams, except over and over again. She then remembered. Her mother, her beautiful mother had sung the song to her every night when she was 10. She was the only person who had ever been a true friend to Jade. She had the most gentle voice, one that could lull a dragon to sleep. She promised Jade that one day the two of them would run away from the horrible house in which Jade had been brought up. They would run away from the dangers of Jade's father, a drunkard who didn't give a damn about a single person on Earth. He only cared about that stupid bottle of malt whiskey and himself. Jade felt angry just thinking about him. Luckily, she didn't have to live with him. Her grandmother was better, no doubt about that. But anyway, why would Cat mention that song?

"So? Are you going to say something?" Tasha asked, waving her hands in front of Jade's eyes. "Because I can't stay here all day. I have to work at the reception as well, so..."

"You're not going back to that reception," Jade mumbled.

"Sorry?"

"You're not going back to that reception," Jade said, a little louder the second time. "You're coming with me. I know that you know something about the girl. You're going to help me find her."

Tasha looked at Jade in shock. "I have no clue where she is. How would I know? She left before I could say a thing about her. Besides, why is she so important to you? You don't look her type."

Jade blushed. "That's none of your business," she said firmly. "You have to come with me to find her."

Tasha hesitated. "Fine," she said finally. "By the way, I only agreed to do this because I wouldn't have liked it myself if I were in your shoes."

"All right then, we have a deal, Tasha," Jade replied, offering her hand. Tasha shook it reluctantly, staring at Jade's black nails disapprovingly. "When should we set off? Because I'm leaving this place right now and going home."

"I'm free tomorrow morning," Tasha replied immediately. "We could go looking for her then. By the way, you know Los Angeles is a large city. Where can we start?"

Jade thought about it. "We could start at our school."

"And which school may that be, sassy girl who still goes to school?"

Jade narrowed her eyes. "That school just might be Hollywood Arts."

* * *

_Okay, I'm really, really, really very sorry for the delay. I just had writer's block and I couldn't focus on the story what with all this drama going on in my life and my friends and folks (and not to mention neighbors) bugging me atm, I've not been able to concentrate on this story. So to those people who still follow the story and have forgiven me for making everyone wait for ages, thank you so much. You've actually supported me. Those of you who aren't following this story any longer...I know how you feel. Exasperated, tired, annoyed, disgusted...sure, feel that. But I'm back, and I'm writing. So it's okay. You don't need to listen to the story.  
I know the ones who actually will._

_~GGG_


	4. Truck Lane

_Omg. I haven't updated in years :o I'm sososososososo totally sorry, I PROMISE to update sooner. Cross my heart, ok? I'm just extremely busy and I have a lot on my mind and I guess I just never had time for this...so sorry. I had some writers block as well, so I couldn't really think of any good ideas for this thing. But then I had the most fantastic idea. So here I am, with _The Hunted_._

* * *

Jade woke up early the next morning. Sunlight poured into the room through the windows. Someone had parted the curtains. She scowled. Sunlight was one of her least favorite things.

Stretching, she got up slowly. What an odd nightmare she'd had. Her friends had gone missing and she's had a weird conversation about Cat with a blonde Angelina Jolie. It hadn't really happened. Jade knew it had all just been a nightmare. Then why did it feel so realistic?

She stepped onto the warm wooden floor of her room and walked to her brother's room slowly. She hadn't met him the previous night. Besides, where had she been the previous night? She couldn't remember a single thing. Confused, she pushed open the door to the little boy's room.

The second she entered, she knew something was wrong. The room was too clean. It was, in fact, completely empty. The walls weren't covered in her brother's 'Pirates!' wallpaper. The room was vacant, except for a plain, small cot, fit for holding a young infant. What was it doing there? Where was her brother?

She walked down the steps quickly, yet at the same time careful enough to not miss a single step.

She went inside her father's room. Inside were her mother and father, lying next to each other. Jade gasped. Her mother was pregnant. A second after she realized this, an alarm clock rang. Jade's mother stopped the alarm. Slowly she got up and walked out of the room, not even acknowledging Jade once. Jade stood awkwardly in the doorway, wondering what to say to the only person she had ever loved.

However, her mother only stormed out of the room, walking _through _Jade, ignoring her completely. Jade followed her mother. She felt a number of emotions at the same time: confusion, worry, hurt, anger, rage...mainly confusion. She had absolutely no clue how her mother had just walked through her, as if she was just air. Why'd her mother behave in such a rude way?

When they got to Jade's room, Jade saw it. She saw her. A little eight-year-old lying in the bed, hugging a toy hammer with a sly smile on her face. Her skin was as white as a swan's wings, her hair as brown as chocolate. Jade wanted to scream. She wanted to scream loud enough to be able to shatter every single window in the damned house. She wanted to scream until she lost her voice. Until she died. Sure, she grew up there. But the house was filled with memories, memories she didn't want to remember. They haunted her in the form of nightmares, made her toss and turn in her sleep.

_That's me_, she thought. _It's me nine years ago.  
_Her father entered the room and said, "Jade, my dear kid. Wake up or we'll throw sushi on you."  
The older Jade heard her mother laugh, "You know she doesn't like sushi."  
Jade had heard those words before. Of course she had. She'd heard them years ago.

Nine years ago.

She couldn't handle the pain anymore. She screamed, "That's me! An innocent kid! Get that horrible man away from me!"

Laughter followed. Eight-year-old Jade groaned but got out of bed nevertheless. No one could hear the older, seventeen-year-old Jade scream. She turned on her heel and walked out of the house quickly.

* * *

It was an extremely hot morning. The sky was a bright, brilliant shade of blue and the sun was a blinding golden ball of fire in the sky. Jade had to squint at first so as to see properly.

Everything she had supposedly dreamed was actually true. Cat had dressed up like a nurse. Blonde Angelina existed, and they had made a deal about finding Cat. The doctor's leg was made of titanium. And the worst part was this: Her friends were actually missing. Oh, and that she had accidentally traveled back in time.

Tasha had texted Jade saying:

_Hi, Tasha over here. U need 2 cum 2 dis place: G-234 Truck Lane, Los Angeles, CA, USA, NA, WH, Earth, Solar System, Milky Way, Outer Space, Outer Outer Space (if dat exists), Universe. K? ok, will c u 2moro plz cum on time ok? kk bye :)_

Jade had texted back asking where Truck Lane was and Tasha replied:

_Dude srsly u dont know :O u shud. btw Truck Lane is like outsie the city ok not rly but its like a ghost town kinda okok :)_

Outside the city. Truck Lane. It made no sense. Even nine years ago Truck Lane hadn't existed. Besides, if it was a ghost town, how would Jade find it? It definitely wasn't on a map...

Jade walked into the garage. Unfortunately, she wouldn't be buying a car for approximately nine more years. She sighed. Maybe her father's truck wasn't so bad after all. She jumped in. _Aargh__, _she thought. _Where are the keys?_

Of course, they were under the doormat. Snatching them, she opened the truck door, jumped in and sad upright, straightening her shoulders. She didn't understand why her fingers shook so nervously. _I've driven a car before,_ she thought. _Why am I so nervous?_

Driving down the street, she thought about the morning. She'd woken up next to herself, a girl who never thought her father - and her life - would change so drastically. That her mom would be dead in a few years, her dad would be a nasty drunkard and her best friend would be a demented redhead who never had any clue whether she was on her head or on her feet, who was also lost in the past. How did they even go to the past? Jade knew that she had gotten drunk, they'd said "Three cheers for the Hooligans!" and then something weird had happened, which had made Cat and Jade go back in time. However she didn't understand _how_ they'd gone back in time. The whole situation was so odd and confusing.

Jade tried to think bright thoughts. _Ugh no, I hate bright thoughts_, she thought. _I'll think about bad stuff._

She thought about a car blowing up. A whale eating a unicorn. A cowboy getting eaten up by a lion covered in cacti (Jade decided that this would be painful for both the cowboy and the lion).

Soon, the tall buildings, laughter and noise of Hollywood disappeared, and the roads became dusty and quiet. For half an hour she drove silently through the lonely, empty streets, listening to the boring country music on the radio. Suddenly, it hit her that she was going nowhere. She stopped the car and pulled out her phone from her pocket and dialed Tasha's number.

"Hello?" a voice asked.

"Tasha, it's me, Jade West," Jade said slowly.

"Oh hi! Where are you?"

"I don't know where I am. Where is Truck Lane?"

"Let me guess...you're in the middle of nowhere, the streets are dusty, and there are bushes on the side of the street."

"How do you know?" Jade asked, a little surprised.

"Hey, I had to come that way myself," Tasha chuckled. "Just take a right turn and then go straight, until you see a red phone booth. You'll find your way after that."

Jade said goodbye to Tasha and started driving again. She realized it would've been a good idea to just leave that very moment and go back home, when she realized there was no "home" for her. She'd just have to go back to that terrible house, and she didn't want to.

She followed Tasha's directions and she came across a red phone booth. She stopped her car right over there in front of the phone booth. She found nothing there at all. She walked around that phone booth again and again, not knowing what exactly to expect. Then it occurred to her that there was nothing there at all, she'd been framed, and she was stuck in this world forever, lost. She silently cursed herself for ever trusting Tasha in the first place. Tasha was a liar, and only trouble.

Still, even though she'd been tricked, she still felt that there was something odd about the phone booth just standing there, far away from the city, where no one could use it. So she walked toward it and - just out of curiosity - entered.

* * *

Inside it was dark, which was strange since the sun was shining brightly outside. It took a while for her eyes to get accustomed to the darkness. She moved around and felt everything that was around her. She felt buttons. She felt the glass, cold and damp. She felt the door as well. The only thing she couldn't feel was a phone herself.

Just when things started to seem fishy, a strange, loud voice started speaking.

"State your name and your time," the voice said. It was a woman's voice, but it was old and raspy. It sounded like the pages of an ancient book, as if it hadn't spoken in centuries, and was learning to speak again.

"My time?" Jade asked. She knew this was all a prank, and she couldn't wait to get her hands on the troublemaker who'd actually decided to mess with her.

"Oh, you teenagers," the voice said. "Age, time, whatever you call it. Basically I want to know how long you've lived. In numbers. And don't try to fool me like the last one did!"

"Last one?" Jade asked, getting more irritated each second.

"There were two last time," the voice said sadly. "Some Natasha Black person. And with her was this other girl."

"Really?" Jade asked hopefully. "What did she look like?"

"Ah, dear young one, I wish I could tell you," the voice sighed. "I cannot see. I can only hear, and sense, and ask you my question. Which I must do now. State your name and time."

"But certainly you would know her name," Jade insisted, ignoring the voice's question. At this point she was desperate to find Cat.

"I should've asked," the voice said thoughtfully, "but I don't suppose it's any of my business. I only need to know one name, no more, no less. Now answer my questions or I will burn you to ashes."

"My name is Jade, Jade West. I'm 17 years old," Jade said quickly, not wanting to be burned down.

"'Years old'?" the voice asked. "Does that mean you have lived for 17 years?"

"Uh, no, it means I've been living for 17 seconds," Jade replied sarcastically.

"17 seconds?" the voice asked. "My, you certainly do talk a lot for someone who's been living for seventeen seconds."

Jade sighed. "No, I've been living for seventeen years. Now what are you going to do with that information?"

"Nothing really," the voice said. "I just have to enter your data in here and -"

The ground started shaking. A crack appeared, and Jade jumped up, startled. She moved backwards quickly, but she tripped and fell - right into the crack, tumbling downwards, until she hit land with a soft _thud._

* * *

_Yes, I know, it's TERRIBLE so far. You don't need to tell me that. But oh well, it was the best I could think of. Hopefully I'll update by tomorrow or somt. Maybe. Lol I have really long breaks. Sorry about that. Anyway, hope you're liking this. :P_

_~GGG_


	5. Two Girls, a Talking Pond and Apples

Jade's eyes opened slowly. Her vision was blurry. Her leg felt weak. She knew it would be impossible to talk ever again. She squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again. She could see things more clearly, and she even heard voices, though it sounded like the people were far away.

She could make out some words. "Is...okay...a while...wait..."

She shook her head and got up carefully. The light was painful for her eyes. She blinked a few times, trying to get used to it. She looked around. It was an empty room, with white walls, with no one inside but her. There was a little brown table next to her, with a glass of water on it. In the corner of the room there was a large mirror. It was beautiful. She wanted to get up and look at it, but her mind told her she needed rest. She tried to keep her eyes open, but she couldn't. Eventually, they closed again.

_"Jade?"  
_

_Jade turned around and around, looking into the darkness. No roads, no paths, no buildings, nothing - just darkness and strange shadow-like shapes. "Who's there?"  
_

_"Jade, it's me, Tori."_

_"What?" Jade asked frantically. She'd never been more excited to hear Tori's voice in her entire life. "Tori? Where?"_

_"I'm sorry you can't see me," Tori said sympathetically. "The connection is terrible. I have to tell you something important. I have but only a minute to tell thou, maybe even less time, so you have to listen to me carefully."_

_"First of all, don't go all Shakespearean on me," Jade snapped. "Second, if you have only a minute, talk fast."_

_Tori said, "Just a piece of advice that will really help you: _Don't_ trust Tasha. Never trust her. And also, follow the light of the Irremediables."_

_"What?" Jade asked. "The who?"_

_"The Irremediables," Tori replied. "Trust me, you'll know them when you see them. They're the only way you can find us." She paused. "If you want to find us."_

_Jade had never particularly liked Tori. In fact, Tori was annoying, bratty, and always managed to steal the spotlight. But she still felt this urge to do something heroic like saving her friends, even though she had no clue what she was saving them from. "I guess I do."_

_"Then hurry," Tori said quickly. "We have no more time. Deactivate in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1..."_

* * *

Jade woke up again. This time she felt better and stronger. She looked around the room again. It hadn't changed much, except for the fact that a girl now stood in front of the mirror, admiring herself in it. She had long, straight brown hair and beautiful features. Her eyes had a little gleam in them. Her clothes were normal; she didn't dress like a diva or a hobo. She looked like your "average high school" student. Jade could tell that although this girl looked pretty and innocent, she was quite clever and wicked inside. She'd be an interesting companion.

She noticed Jade looking at her reflection in the mirror and turned around to face Jade. "Oh, you're awake," she said slowly.

Jade noticed the nervousness in her voice and laughed. "Don't worry, I don't bite. Not really."

"I'm not worried," the girl said more confidently, but she still had a wary and dangerous look in her eyes that said: _Touch me and I'll scratch your eyes out_. Jade knew it too well, mainly because she gave that look to almost everyone at least once every day.

"Oh sure you aren't," Jade smirked. "What are you looking at, anyway? Your reflection? Ugh, I swear, I never understand how girls can do that all day long. Trust me, I've tried, and it's just boring. There's nothing fun or exciting in staring at yourself. It just constantly reminds me of how there are girls who are prettier than me and who are obviously much cooler because they have the looks, and not the brains."

"Interesting that you'd think that, because I feel the same way," the girl said. "And no, I'm not looking at my reflection. You've been in this room for four days, you know. You ought to know what this mirror can do."

"Four days?" Jade exclaimed, raising her eyebrows. "Really? How did I even come here?"

"I've no clue," the girl replied. "I only woke up two days ago, and I have no memory of anything. Supposedly, this mirror is going to give me the answer to my problems, and even help bring back my memory for me."

"It looks pretty normal to me," Jade said, finally getting up. "I can't see anything except for you in there."

"This mirror hides many secrets," the girl said. "And it only gives you clues. Come closer and you'll probably see something."

Jade got up and came close to the mirror. When she was about four feet away from it, the image in the mirror changed. In the mirror, she saw a young girl. She had dark brown hair and wore a simple red and blue striped dress. She was grinning. She held a basket of apples in one hand and with her other hand she was holding on to another little girl's hand. The other girl had blonde hair and wore a green and purple velvet dress. The blonde looked cleaner, and a little snobbish.

_"Come on!"_ the brunette called to the other girl.

_"Ugh, this is the worst picnic I've ever been on,"_ the blonde groaned. _"Can't we just stay at home and play with our dolls and make them look prettier?"_

_"Why would you want to do that when you have the opportunity to go outside and have a picnic?"_ the other girl grinned, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

_"But this is boring,"_ the blonde said. She let go of her friend's hand. _"I'm going back home."_

_"No, come with me!"_ the brunette begged. She pulled her friend's hand and immediately an apple fell from her basket. It rolled down the side of the hill that they were climbing and fell with a silent 'splash' into a pool of water. The brunette glared at the blonde. _"You are SO mean!"_ she yelled. She ran down the hill as fast as she could.

The blonde walked down the hill from the other side. She walked towards the pool and looked for the apple. She must've known that it would float. She looked around and finally spotted it. As she bent down to pick it, the water hissed. Startled, she stepped backwards.

_"Who dares to enter my realm?"_ a voice asked. It sounded like a snake, and it spoke softly, almost like a whisper.

_"Uh,"_ the blonde said slowly, her voice quivering with fear and nervousness. _"My name is Marina."_

Jade inhaled sharply. _Marina_. She'd heard that name before, somewhere. She wasn't sure, though.

_"Marina,"_ the voice repeated. _"I knew a Marina once. That was in 1678, though. A pretty woman. That was when I could see, though."_

_"You can't see?"_ Marina asked.

_"No, my dear child,"_ the voice spoke sadly. _"I once could, but now I can't. I was left here, alone, abandoned by someone who I thought I could trust. I was punished, although I did nothing wrong. My curse was to just lie here and listen to one thing over and over again - wishes. Dreams, hopes, everything I once had that was eventually taken away from me. I had the power to help them come true, all those dreams. Just granting them, watching people live happily was, and still is, my occupation. Nothing has changed. My life is still a wicked hell of evil and suffering. I'm still forced to watch human beings get whatever they want. I didn't choose this. I don't deserve it. Alas, the people have chosen for me, and this is my fate."_

_"You poor thing,"_ Marina said sympathetically. _"Why did they do this to you? You didn't do anything. Why would they do this?" _

_"Ah, yes,"_ the voice said as if she agreed with Marina. _"Of course I didn't do anything. But people... my dear, you are young. You are naïve. You don't understand the cruelty of human beings yet. One day you will, just not yet. If one actually gets everything they wish for, eventually they become cruel. I can give you anything you want, if you'd like. Do you want something from me?"_

_"No,"_ Marina said firmly. _"I'm not like any of those mean people who are bad to you. I'm nice. I will be nice to you. Okay?"_

The voice sighed. _"You are a wonderful girl, I wish everyone was like you. Then again, my wishes don't count, only yours do."_

_"I'm not wishing for anything,"_ Marina said. _"I'm a nice person. I won't be rude to you. You're not bad, you're a good person. I don't like bad people."_

_"God bless you, my beautiful child,"_ the voice whispered. _"May you stay healthy and happy and never become like me."_

* * *

Suddenly, the scene disappeared. Jade stood still, a little confused. _That's it?_ she thought. _That was supposed to answer my questions? That was actually supposed to tell me what to do?_ She blinked and silently cursed under her breath.

"So?"

She'd almost forgotten about the girl next to her. "I have nothing to say."

"What happened?" the girl asked.

"Nothing happened, that's what," Jade said angrily. She hated people who always asked her, "What happened?" or "What's wrong?" They never care, they just ask because it's polite to ask. And when you start talking about your feelings, they don't even listen. What's the point of answering them? What's the point of talking to someone who doesn't want to hear you speak?

"Whoa, it's okay, I'm just asking," the girl said, rolling her eyes. "You don't have to get _mad_ at me."

"This mirror has told me absolutely nothing, all right?" Jade screamed. "I mean, literally nothing! It's just told me some dumb fairy tale about two girls, a talking pond and a basket of apples. And the moral of the story? Don't be cruel and greedy. How sweet. How cute. It's given me absolutely no information about my friends or about anyone at all, for that matter. What the hell was the point?"

The girl stood there silently and watched Jade. It was as if she was memorizing what Jade looked like. She looked up again. "At least you know what you've lost. I don't even know what I've lost. Or if I've actually lost anything, for that matter."

"That's better than not knowing what you've lost, you know," Jade said, her voice shaking. She looked like she was going to scream again, but she decided to control herself. Closing her eyes, she sighed. "I don't even know how to find them now. I don't even know where I am. I mean, I woke up one day to find myself in L.A., except 9 years ago. And none of my friends even _exist_. And Cat just randomly pops out of nowhere and then she just disappears. I mean, what kind of a -"

"Whoa, whoa, wait," the girl said. "Cat?"

"Yeah," Jade said carefully. Did this person know Cat?

"As in like, Cat Valentine? With red hair?" she asked.

"That's her," Jade said, getting excited. "Where is she? Have you seen her around?"

"Y-Yeah, she's uh, here," the girl said hesitantly.

"You don't seem so sure," Jade said, narrowing her eyes.

"I'm sure, but," the girl paused, taking a deep breath, "I don't think you'll be happy to see her."

"Take me to her, and _I'll_ decide whether I'm happy or not," Jade said.

"Come on then," the girl said reluctantly, leading Jade outside.

* * *

_Ahh well, so that was the fifth chapter for you people! I'm sorry for the delay, FanFiction messed up and accidentally messed up my previous draft of this chapter, so I had to re-write the entire thing. And with exams and all, I haven't had much time. I'm very sorry, I can't promise I'll post the next chapter soon, FanFiction is completely unpredictable these days. But anyways, thank you very much for your continued support, please follow this story for more updates and all. If you'd like me to notify you, please PM me._

_This chapter was much shorter than the previous one, but oh well, I had fun writing it. Hope you have fun reading it too!_

_If you notice spelling/grammatical errors, please tell me, I always listen._

_Reviews would be much appreciated. ^_^_


	6. The Chapter Which Isn't a Chapter

Hi, everyone. I'm really sorry if you guys thought this was a new chapter but yeah.

Wow, I'm here after three months, that's pretty cool. And it's a rather long hiatus, I know, and I genuinely apologize for that. However, I have some news: I won't be continuing this story now**.**

**FAQ**

**A. Why?**

Let's make a list.

1. I've grown out of Victorious. I'm frankly not interested in it anymore, and I stopped caring even after it got cancelled.  
2. I have new interests now, which mainly involve anime and manga, so I may write fanfiction based on anime/manga series. Get ready, everyone. And if you have a strong irrational bias against anime I suggest you avoid my fanfiction account from now on x]  
3. I don't know, maybe because I don't know how to end this story. It seems to be going nowhere. I was thinking of getting some inspiration from Elfen Lied, like some gory scenes or something, but then I thought no, that just wouldn't fit in this story. I might, however, start a story on FictionPress with a similar plot, just perhaps written a different way.  
4. Most people don't like reading fanfics which aren't ship-related. I can understand, considering I'm in a lot of fandoms and most of the fanfics I read are ship-related. However, since I started writing a fanfic which isn't ship-related, it isn't really popular for the reason that I've mentioned in this point.

**B. Am I going to stop writing fanfiction?**

I could. I'm more interested in writing original stories, so I most definitely could. But will I? No. I'm just going to be on less, and less, especially because I'm going to be even more busy this year, with exams and all that. Yes, it's true, I'm officially growing old, and no I will not use any product that'll make me look younger.

**C. How old am I****?**

Yes, in this FAQ which is specifically regarding this particular fanfic, it's a random question, I know. But I have been asked this by an anonymous reader named Fate, and I'm rather sorry I didn't answer sooner, Fate. I usually don't reveal my age online unless I know and trust the person. Well, I probably have it rewritten somewhere on my profile, so you may check that if you'd like. :)

**D. Will I be taking requests?**

Certainly! As long as I like the idea, I will definitely try my best to write anything you'd like me to.

**E. Am I going to stop writing this particular story _entirely_?**

I've been considering, and I don't know. Perhaps if I'm in the mood sometime later I'll continue it. For now, I'm probably not going to. The truth is, I've actually written a chapter 6 for this but I'm not going to be publishing it. I'll still keep it saved in case I find a use for it, but no, I won't be publishing it now.

* * *

Thank you for your support, everyone. And expect a few Inuyasha fanfics ;)


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